Game ID: 22301082
Oklahoma City Thunder @ New York Knicks
Sunday, March 31, 2024 at 7:00 PM ET
Madison Square Garden, New York, NY
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
NYK 22 24 39 27 112OKC 17 33 25 38 113
NYK vs OKC ScoutingNYK vs OKC Scouting
Welcome to the scouting desk. The coffee is cold, the film is play-by-play, and somebody has to explain what happened.
Every game has a hinge — a stretch where it was decided, usually while everyone was watching something else. Start where the evidence lives: the Lineups' face-offs say which five actually won their minutes; the Possessions ledger says who ran ahead of the night's own pace; the Shot Chart says where the points really came from, which is rarely where the highlights were. When all three agree, that is the story. When they don't — that is why this desk has a chair.
NYK availability going into 3/23 · 1 day's restOUT Anunoby missed 2 since 3/18, out tonight
OUT Robinson missed 48 since 12/11, out tonight
BACK Sims back 3/18 after 2, 7 min since (54% of 12)
NEW Hart 35 to 41 min over the last 5
NEW McBride 21 to 29 min over the last 5
NYK availability going into 3/25 · 1 day's restOUT Anunoby missed 3 since 3/18, out tonight
OUT Robinson missed 49 since 12/11, out tonight
BACK Sims back 3/18 after 2, 10 min since (86% of 12)
NEW Hart 35 to 42 min over the last 5
NEW McBride 21 to 34 min over the last 5
NYK availability going into 3/27 · 1 day's restOUT Anunoby missed 4 since 3/18, out tonight
OUT Robinson missed 50 since 12/11, returns tonight: 12 min (52% of 24)
BACK Sims back 3/18 after 2, 9 min since (78% of 12)
NEW Hart 35 to 41 min over the last 5
NEW McBride 21 to 39 min over the last 5
NYK availability going into 3/29 · 1 day's restOUT Anunoby missed 5 since 3/18, out tonight
OUT Burks missed 2 since 3/25, out tonight
BACK Robinson back 3/27 after 50, 12 min since (52% of 24)
BACK Sims back 3/18 after 2, 9 min since (73% of 12)
NEW Hart 35 to 40 min over the last 5
NEW DiVincenzo 30 to 35 min over the last 5
NEW McBride 21 to 44 min over the last 5
NYK availability going into 3/31 · 1 day's restOUT Anunoby missed 6 since 3/18, out tonight
OUT Burks missed 3 since 3/25, returns tonight: 12 min (83% of 15)
BACK Robinson back 3/27 after 50, 16 min since (67% of 24)
NEW DiVincenzo 30 to 39 min over the last 5
NEW McBride 21 to 44 min over the last 5
NYK availability going into 4/02 · 1 day's restOUT Anunoby missed 7 since 3/18, out tonight
OUT Sims missed 2 since 3/29, out tonight
BACK Robinson back 3/27 after 50, 16 min since (67% of 24)
BACK Burks back 3/31 after 3, 12 min since (83% of 15)
NEW Hart 35 to 41 min over the last 5
NEW DiVincenzo 30 to 41 min over the last 5
NEW McBride 21 to 44 min over the last 5
NYK availability going into 4/04 · 1 day's restOUT Anunoby missed 8 since 3/18, out tonight
OUT Sims missed 3 since 3/29, returns tonight: 1 min (5% of 12)
BACK Robinson back 3/27 after 50, 14 min since (59% of 24)
BACK Burks back 3/31 after 3, 8 min since (52% of 15)
NEW Hart 35 to 41 min over the last 5
NEW DiVincenzo 30 to 40 min over the last 5
NEW McBride 21 to 44 min over the last 5
NYK availability going into 4/05 · back-to-backOUT Anunoby missed 9 since 3/18, returns tonight: 29 min (82% of 35)
BACK Robinson back 3/27 after 50, 14 min since (60% of 24)
BACK Burks back 3/31 after 3, 8 min since (54% of 15)
BACK Sims back 4/04 after 3, 1 min since (5% of 12)
NEW Hart 35 to 42 min over the last 5
NEW DiVincenzo 30 to 39 min over the last 5
NEW McBride 21 to 44 min over the last 5
NYK availability going into 4/07 · 1 day's restBACK Anunoby back 4/05 after 9, 29 min since (82% of 35)
BACK Burks back 3/31 after 3, 8 min since (54% of 15)
BACK Sims back 4/04 after 3, 1 min since (5% of 12)
NEW DiVincenzo 30 to 39 min over the last 5
NEW McBride 21 to 43 min over the last 5
OKC availability going into 3/24 · 1 day's restBACK Dieng back 3/20 after 3, 4 min since (41% of 10)
NEW Hayward 15 to 21 min over the last 5
OKC availability going into 3/26 · 1 day's restOUT Dieng missed 2 since 3/22, out tonight
OKC availability going into 3/27 · back-to-backOUT Dieng missed 3 since 3/22, out tonight
OKC availability going into 3/29 · 1 day's restOUT Dieng missed 4 since 3/22, out tonight
NEW K. Williams 14 to 20 min over the last 4
OKC availability going into 3/31 · 1 day's restOUT Gilgeous-Alexande missed 2 since 3/27, returns tonight: 35 min (101% of 35)
OUT Dieng missed 5 since 3/22, out tonight
NEW K. Williams 14 to 20 min over the last 5
OKC availability going into 4/02 · 1 day's restOUT Dieng missed 6 since 3/22, out tonight
BACK Gilgeous-Alexande back 3/31 after 2, 35 min since (101% of 35)
NEW Wiggins 16 to 21 min over the last 4
OKC availability going into 4/03 · back-to-backOUT Dieng missed 7 since 3/22, out tonight
BACK Gilgeous-Alexande back 3/31 after 2, 35 min since (101% of 35)
NEW Wiggins 16 to 24 min over the last 4
OKC availability going into 4/05 · 1 day's restOUT Gilgeous-Alexande missed 2 since 4/02, out tonight
OUT Jal. Williams missed 2 since 4/02, out tonight
OUT Dieng missed 8 since 3/22, out tonight
NEW Joe 18 to 24 min over the last 5
NEW Wiggins 16 to 25 min over the last 5
NEW Jay. Williams 13 to 18 min over the last 5
OKC availability going into 4/07 · 1 day's restOUT Gilgeous-Alexande missed 3 since 4/02, out tonight
OUT Jal. Williams missed 3 since 4/02, out tonight
OUT Dieng missed 9 since 3/22, out tonight
NEW Joe 18 to 24 min over the last 5
NEW Wiggins 16 to 23 min over the last 5
I Know — the desk, before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
New York comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 120 a night and allowing 107, shooting 49 percent and 41 from three, 16 free throws a game; Brunson at 32 and DiVincenzo at 24 a game. It has won the glass by 6 a night. Without Anunoby (6 straight). One day's rest. OKC comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 118 a night and allowing 114, shooting 49 percent and 38 from three, 19 free throws a game; Giddey at 22 and Jal. Williams at 21 a game. Without Gilgeous-Alexander (2 straight). One day's rest.
So: New York wins, and the game turns on the glass, where New York has been plus-6 a night and OKC minus-1 and the defense, New York allowing 107 a night to OKC's 114. Call it New York 116, OKC 112, OKC keeping it close.
3/23 vs BKN 105-93 — NYK notes
NYK won 105-93. NYK shot 43% (42 of 97) to BKN's 45%, 15 of 40 from three. NYK turned it over 9 times to BKN's 15. DiVincenzo led with 31 (12 of 24, 4 of 13 from three); McBride added 26, Brunson 17. The hinge was Q4, 25-16: a lead of 3 became 12, and the lead reached 18. NYK trailed 56-57 at the half and won the second half 49-36. Hart was the night's best plus/minus at +15.
3/25 vs DET 124-99 — NYK notes
NYK won 124-99. NYK shot 51% (45 of 89) to DET's 39%, 19 of 46 from three. The glass went 52-37 for them. DiVincenzo led with 40 (14 of 23, 11 of 20 from three); Brunson added 28, McBride 13. The hinge was Q1, 36-17: from level to 19 ahead, and the lead reached 31. Brunson was the night's best plus/minus at +37.
3/27 @ TOR 145-101 — NYK notes
NYK won 145-101. NYK shot 59% (55 of 94) to TOR's 46%, 22 of 44 from three. NYK turned it over 11 times to TOR's 18. The glass went 42-28 for them. McBride led with 29 (10 of 17, 9 of 14 from three); Brunson added 26, Achiuwa 19. The hinge was Q4, 34-21: a lead of 31 became 44. McBride was the night's best plus/minus at +40.
3/29 @ SAS 126-130 — NYK notes
NYK lost 126-130 in 1 overtime. NYK took 28 more shots (110 to 82), fed by 18 offensive rebounds, but shot 46% to SAS's 54%, 14 of 37 from three, and got to the line just 12 times against 24 fouls committed. Brunson led with 61 (25 of 47, 5 of 13 from three, 6 of 6 at the line); DiVincenzo added 20, Hart 12. Q3 was theirs, 34-20, the deficit cut from 17 to 3, but the other 4 periods went 110-92 against them. Achiuwa's -30 in 16 minutes was the worst on the floor.
3/31 vs OKC 112-113 — NYK notes
NYK lost 112-113. NYK took 10 more shots (92 to 82), fed by 15 offensive rebounds, but shot 41% to OKC's 54%, 13 of 43 from three, and went to the line 34 times to OKC's 24 — 23 points from the stripe to their 12. Brunson led with 30 (11 of 25, 4 of 11 from three, 4 of 8 at the line); McBride added 19, Hartenstein 17. Q3 was theirs, 39-25, turning a 4-point deficit into a 10-point lead, but the other 3 periods went 88-73 against them. They led by as many as 12.
4/02 @ MIA — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Miami comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 112 a night and allowing 99, shooting 47 percent and 37 from three, 20 free throws a game; Adebayo at 19 and Rozier at 18 a game. Without Herro (18 straight), Richardson (21 straight), Love (16 straight). One day's rest. New York comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 122 a night and allowing 107, shooting 48 percent and 40 from three, 19 free throws a game; Brunson at 32 and DiVincenzo at 24 a game. It has won the glass by 8 a night. Without Anunoby (7 straight). One day's rest.
So: Miami wins, and the game turns on the glass, where New York has been plus-8 a night and Miami minus-2 and the defense, Miami allowing 99 a night to New York's 107. Call it Miami 111, New York 109, New York keeping it close.
4/04 vs SAC — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
New York comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 121 a night and allowing 110, shooting 49 percent and 39 from three, 21 free throws a game; Brunson at 33 and DiVincenzo at 24 a game. That is 3 straight losses. It has won the glass by 5 a night. Without Anunoby (8 straight). One day's rest. Sacramento comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 109 a night and allowing 107, shooting 44 percent and 37 from three, 21 free throws a game; Fox at 22 and Murray at 19 a game. One day's rest.
So: New York wins, in a game with no one edge to lean on. Call it New York 115, Sacramento 110.
4/05 @ CHI — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Chicago comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 110 a night and allowing 109, shooting 47 percent and 37 from three, 22 free throws a game; DeRozan at 29 and White at 19 a game. It has won the glass by 4 a night. 3 days' rest. New York comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 120 a night and allowing 112, shooting 49 percent and 39 from three, 22 free throws a game; Brunson at 34 and DiVincenzo at 21 a game. Without Anunoby (9 straight). Second night of a back-to-back.
So: Chicago wins, in a game with no one edge to lean on. Call it Chicago 113, New York 112, New York keeping it close.
4/07 @ MIL — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Milwaukee comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 109 a night and allowing 113, shooting 45 percent and 31 from three, 21 free throws a game; Antetokounmpo at 32 and Middleton at 18 a game. That is 3 straight losses. Without Beverley (2 straight). One day's rest. New York comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 111 a night and allowing 114, shooting 46 percent and 36 from three, 24 free throws a game; Brunson at 36 and DiVincenzo at 19 a game. One day's rest.
So: Milwaukee wins, and the game turns on the arc, New York at 36 percent from three to Milwaukee's 31. Call it Milwaukee 114, New York 112, New York keeping it close.
3/24 @ MIL 93-118 — OKC notes
OKC lost 93-118. OKC shot 37% (33 of 89) to MIL's 53%, 10 of 43 from three, and went to the line 22 times to MIL's 14 — 17 points from the stripe to their 9. The glass went 37-57 against them. Giddey led with 19 (7 of 12, 4 of 6 from three); Jal. Williams added 18, Gilgeous-Alexander 12. Q2 was theirs, 25-23, the deficit cut from 3 to 1, but the other 3 periods went 95-68 against them. Dort's -18 in 22 minutes was the worst on the floor.
3/26 @ NOP 119-112 — OKC notes
OKC won 119-112. OKC shot 53% (46 of 86) to NOP's 45%, 15 of 34 from three, and got to the line 14 times to NOP's 23. Jal. Williams led with 26 (9 of 18, 3 of 6 from three); Giddey added 25, Gilgeous-Alexander 24. The hinge was Q2, 40-24: OKC came in trailing by 1 and left it ahead by 15, and the lead reached 20. Holmgren was the night's best plus/minus at +16.
3/27 vs HOU 126-132 — OKC notes
OKC lost 126-132 in 1 overtime. OKC shot 49% (47 of 96) to HOU's 48%, 14 of 38 from three. Giddey led with 31 (12 of 20, 0 of 3 from three, 7 of 11 at the line); Jal. Williams added 23, Joe 17. Q2 was theirs, 33-21, turning a 11-point deficit into a 1-point lead, but the other 4 periods went 111-93 against them. Jal. Williams's -14 in 38 minutes was the worst on the floor.
3/29 vs PHX 128-103 — OKC notes
OKC won 128-103. OKC shot 56% (49 of 87) to PHX's 45%, 16 of 30 from three. Giddey led with 23 (10 of 15, 1 of 3 from three); Holmgren added 20, Wallace 16. The hinge was Q3, 31-21: a lead of 11 became 21, and the lead reached 29. Wallace was the night's best plus/minus at +23.
3/31 @ NYK 113-112 — OKC notes
OKC won 113-112. OKC shot 54% (44 of 82) to NYK's 41%, 13 of 34 from three, and got to the line 24 times to NYK's 34. Jal. Williams led with 33 (14 of 18, 1 of 4 from three, 4 of 8 at the line); Gilgeous-Alexander added 19, Giddey 16. The hinge was Q4, 38-27: OKC came in trailing by 10 and left it ahead by 1.
4/02 @ PHI — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Philadelphia comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 115 a night and allowing 112, shooting 49 percent and 44 from three, 16 free throws a game; Maxey at 24 and Harris at 18 a game. It has won the glass by 6 a night. Without Embiid (29 straight), Melton (17 straight), Covington (43 straight). One day's rest. OKC comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 116 a night and allowing 115, shooting 50 percent and 38 from three, 20 free throws a game; Jal. Williams at 23 and Giddey at 23 a game. One day's rest.
So: Philadelphia wins, and the game turns on the glass, where Philadelphia has been plus-6 a night and OKC minus-3 and the arc, Philadelphia at 44 percent from three to OKC's 38. Call it Philadelphia 116, OKC 113, OKC keeping it close.
4/03 @ BOS — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Boston comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 117 a night and allowing 110, shooting 49 percent and 38 from three, 17 free throws a game; Tatum at 28 and Brown at 20 a game. One day's rest. OKC comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 118 a night and allowing 114, shooting 51 percent and 41 from three, 20 free throws a game; Jal. Williams at 24 and Giddey at 21 a game. Second night of a back-to-back.
So: Boston wins, in a game with no one edge to lean on. Call it Boston 118, OKC 113.
4/05 @ IND — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Indiana comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 117 a night and allowing 111, shooting 48 percent and 37 from three, 17 free throws a game; Siakam at 22 and Haliburton at 21 a game. One day's rest. OKC comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 114 a night and allowing 118, shooting 49 percent and 37 from three, 22 free throws a game; Jal. Williams at 24 and Giddey at 19 a game. Without Gilgeous-Alexander (2 straight), Jal. Williams (2 straight). One day's rest.
So: Indiana wins, and the game turns on the turnovers, OKC giving it away 14 times a game to Indiana's 9 and the defense, Indiana allowing 111 a night to OKC's 118. Call it Indiana 119, OKC 115, OKC keeping it close.
4/07 @ CHA — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Charlotte comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 106 a night and allowing 113, shooting 47 percent and 35 from three, 18 free throws a game; Bridges at 26 and Miller at 21 a game. It has lost the glass by 10 a night. Without Richards (3 straight). One day's rest. OKC comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 112 a night and allowing 117, shooting 49 percent and 35 from three, 22 free throws a game; Giddey at 16 and Holmgren at 15 a game. That is 3 straight losses. Without Gilgeous-Alexander (3 straight), Jal. Williams (3 straight). One day's rest.
So: OKC wins, on the road, and the game turns on the glass, where OKC has been minus-4 a night and Charlotte minus-10. Call it OKC 114, Charlotte 112, Charlotte keeping it close.
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
OKCAW A. Wiggins
CH C. Holmgren
CW C. Wallace
GH G. Hayward
IJ I. Joe
JG J. Giddey
JW J. Williams
JW Jal. Williams
JW Jay. Williams
KW K. Williams
LD L. Dort
SG S. Gilgeous-Alexander
NYKAB A. Burks
BB B. Bogdanović
DD D. DiVincenzo
IH I. Hartenstein
JB J. Brunson
JH J. Hart
MM M. McBride
PA P. Achiuwa
OKC/NYK the team itself, not a player
-- the feed named nobody
What
What happened
the codes in the Events column
M2 / M3 made 2 / made 3
X2 / X3 missed 2 / missed 3
FT / X1 free throw made / missed
AST assist
OR / DR offensive / defensive rebound
STL steal
BLK block
TO turnover
FL foul
OF offensive foul — ends the possession
VIOL violation
JUMP jump ball
TM timeout
IR instant replay
HE heave at the buzzer, filed to the team
END the clock ran out, ball in hand
Where
Where a shot came from
the middle field of M3.LW.25
RM at the rim inside 4 ft
RC right corner
RW right wing
SO straight on
LW left wing
LC left corner
M3.LW.25 made 3, left wing, 25 ft
X2.RM.01 missed 2, at the rim, 1 ft
When
When it happened
the Offset column
one number per event, in the Events order:
whole seconds from the start of the
possession to that event
Events FL X3.RC.23 OR M2.RM.01
Offset 0 18 22 24
the foul opens the possession at 0s;
the putback ends it at 24s, which is
the possession's own Dur
Thunder clinch first playoff spot since 2020, beat Knicks on Gilgeous-Alexander's jumper
NEW YORK -- — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander made the go-ahead jumper from the corner with 2.6 seconds left, sending the Oklahoma City Thunder to the playoffs for the first time since 2020 with a 113-112 victory over the New York Knicks on Sunday night.
Josh Giddey had 16 points, 13 rebounds and 12 assists for Oklahoma City, which moved back into sole possession of first place in the Western Conference at 52-22 with its second straight win.
“Great accomplishment for the organization,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. “I couldn't be happier for the team and for the organization. And now we've got to continue to sharpen our blade down the stretch here (to) prepare ourselves.”
It was Giddey's third career triple-double — all against the Knicks. He scored 12 points in the fourth quarter, when the Thunder outscored the Knicks 38-27.
“It’s the most famous arena in the world," Giddey said. “It’s a special place to play. (Whether) triple-doubles happen or not, I just try to go out there, play the right way, play the game how it should be played and those things kind of just happen. It’s a fun place to play.”
Jalen Williams led all scorers with 33 points and Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 19.
Jalen Brunson scored 30 points but missed the potential winning jumper in another tough loss for the Knicks, who fell in overtime Friday in San Antonio. Deuce McBride added 19 and Donte DiVincenzo scored 15.
With the Knicks trailing 111-110 with 18 seconds left, Brunson converted a layup to give the Knicks the lead. After a timeout, Gilgeous-Alexander knocked down a turnaround mid-range jumper over McBride before Brunson missed a 16-footer at the buzzer.
Isaiah Hartenstein had 17 points and 12 rebounds for the Knicks, while Josh Hart added 13 points and 15 rebounds.
“It hurts,” Hartenstein said of New York's back-to-back losses. “We've (had) two games where we had great shots. That's kind of the more disappointing thing.”
Trailing 50-46, New York opened the third quarter with a 14-5 run. Brunson scored eight points in the spurt, and McBride and DiVincenzo each drilled a 3.
New York extended its lead to 75-65 after DiVincenzo’s 3 with 5:24 remaining in the quarter. McBride’s layup with 2:54 left capped a pretty passing sequence to extend the advantage to 12.
In all, New York outscored Oklahoma City 39-25 in the period to take an 85-75 lead.
The Thunder responded with a 15-5 spurt in the first 2:41 of the fourth quarter to tie the game at 90-all. The run was capped by Giddey’s floater.
The teams traded baskets for the remainder of the game. Brunson tied it 104 with a 3, but Williams’ 3 allowed the Thunder to regain the lead.
Gilgeous-Alexander returned to the lineup after sitting out Oklahoma City’s previous two games with a left quadriceps contusion. New York remained without Julius Randle (dislocated right shoulder), OG Anunoby (right elbow injury management), and Mitchell Robinson (sprained left ankle).
“I felt like I was ready,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “If I didn't feel so I wouldn't be out there. Didn't have my best game, clearly. But yeah, I felt pretty good.”
UP NEXT:
Thunder: Visits Philadelphia on Tuesday night.
Knicks: Visit Miami on Tuesday night.
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